Arrowhead Report: Wednesday, Sept. 22nd

Jackson and O'Callaghan still hurting, as well as some bulletin board material for KC

After staying home this past weekend to rehab his injured knee, Tyson Jackson was present at practice Wednesday for the first time since an the Chiefs held an organized “dynamic stretch” on the morning of the Monday night opener. Unfortunately, Jackson spent the portion of the practice open to media riding a stationary bike and was officially listed on the Chiefs injury report as a player that “did not participate.”

Joining Jackson in the bike area was Ryan O’Callaghan. O’Callaghan (groin) also did not make the trip to Cleveland with the team and did not practice today. Even though Barry Richardson has opened both of the Chiefs first two games in O’Callaghan’s absence, O’Callaghan is still listed with the first team at right tackle on the Chiefs depth chart.

Jon McGraw, who was inactive in Cleveland with a hamstring injury, returned to practice today in a limited fashion. Tamba Hali (foot) and Wallace Gilberry (back) were also listed on the Chiefs injury report as “limited.”

Davis Guarantees Win

There’s no doubt that the Chiefs have their work cut out for them in defending 49ers TE Vernon Davis (pictured) this Sunday. Coach Todd Haley, and just about every defensive player interviewed this week in the Chiefs locker room, has talked about Davis’ impressive skill set.

The Chiefs respect Davis, and Davis probably respects the Chiefs too. Regardless, Davis is “pretty confident” in his team’s chances this Sunday to say the least.

During his conference call with the Kansas City media on Wednesday afternoon, Davis guaranteed a San Francisco victory for Sunday (without actually saying the word “guarantee”).

Here’s how the exchange went…

Q: How close is this to a must game for you guys at 0-2?

Davis: "Every game is a must game. We have to win this one. We will win this one. I’m pretty confident in showing that we will pull this one out."

Q: Does that go all the way to the level of guaranteeing victory? That’s pretty strong stuff.

Davis: “Like I said, we will win this game.”

Q: What makes you so sure that you will do that?

Davis: “Because, like I said. We have the team to do it. We just got to get rid of all the mistakes. With all the mistakes, there is no telling where we can go. There’s no limit.”

Haley Won’t Label Charles as a Backup

Thomas Jones has started the first two games at running back for the Chiefs. In Week One, Jones and Jamaal Charles split carries with 11 per player. In Week Two, Jones received 22 carries while Charles took 11.

After the Chiefs victory in Cleveland, Charles acknowledged in an interview that he was “the backup running back.” Since Sunday, Coach Todd Haley has been asked about those comments on two separate occasions, but Haley refrained from labeling Charles as a backup in both instances.

“One of our ways that we are going to continue to work and become a team is for all these guys to understand that any one of these 45 guys after a week of practice have to be front line contributors,” Haley said.

“One of our deeper positions is running back and we’ve got a real good couple players in my opinion.”

Haley also re-affirmed today that game plans are drawn with input of the entire offensive staff, though they are ever-changing as gameday arrives.

“We have a clear-cut plan going in of how we want to do things with each guy,” Haley explained. “But this is a fluid game with a lot of variables involved. We saw some weather in the first game and different situations in the second game. You must be able to adjust in the way that you see fit that gives you the best chance to win.”

Haley also re-iterated that the staff leans heavily on assistant head coach/running backs coach Maurice Carthon for in-game personnel decisions regarding the use of Kansas City’s top two runners.

“(Carthon) does a tremendous job of understanding where guys are throughout each game and kind of what mental and physical state they are in,” Haley said.

Haley Explains Communication Mix-ups

Over the first two weeks of the season, throughout the NFL, there have been plenty of examples of miscommunication between the sideline and the field; some, obviously, being more public than others. Confused looks, timeouts and delay of game penalties have all been part of the aftermath that follows the mix-ups and the Chiefs aren’t an exception.

Today, Haley cleared up a few items regarding the communication errors that have occurred over the Chiefs first two games. He also explained what process Kansas City uses to get the play-call relayed to their quarterback.

On Sunday, if you saw any confused looks on offense or defense, it was a technical issue that cut off headset communications.

“The last two games, I’m being made more aware of some of the issues that multiple teams are having with communications,” Haley said. “We’re (using too much technology). They’ve said something about there being so much HD in the building that it’s having some sort of effect. I don’t’ have any facts on that, but I do know that two games in a row, one attributed to weather and another this week, that we were out of communication.”

"It's in regards to the static inside the helmet," QB Matt Cassel explained further. "That sometimes happens on the road in loud stadiums and that's just part of the game."

Cassel says that the feed didn't go completely dead in Cleveland, but rather cut in-and-out as coaches tried to communicate with him.

"Last game was really the first game that I noticed it," Cassel said. "It happened for a few plays in a row where the communication system was down in the helmet and I was trying to get the play. It's actually some static. It will go in-and-out, and then you'll hear a word, then it will go in-and-out, so you won't really hear the call. A lot of times you are working against that clock, because with 15 seconds left on the play clock everything shuts off and you can't hear anyway."

Headset or no headset, the Chiefs use a numbers system to get plays into their quarterback. Essentially, all plays are numbered and the Chiefs simply communicate a number.

“I think it’s a trite and true system that works whether we are calling plays from the box or from the sideline, with or without a headset” Haley said. “You just aren’t always sure when the quarterback can hear, so sometimes when you’re unaware of that and somebody doesn’t see it early enough, you can get pressed for time.”